Many evaluations of programs tend to show few outcomes. One solution to this has been an increasing prominence of the movement that requires programs to implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs). But in a complex world with complex organizations and complex interventions, many challenges have arisen to the implementation of EBIs with fidelity…

Motor vehicle safety and tobacco control are among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the number of miles traveled in the United States multiplied 10 times from the 1920s to the 1990s, the annual motor vehicle crash death rate per vehicle mile traveled…

Background: Public health models have been used to address a number of school-based concerns, notably in the identification and treatment of students at-risk for academic or behavioral deficits. Significant benefits are associated with this model as, compared to a traditional approach, the focus is shifted from remediation to prevention, and from…

Background: Those involved in school health education programs generally believe that health-education programs can play an important role in helping young people make positive health decisions. Thus, it is to document the effects of such programs through rigorous evaluations published in peer-reviewed journals. Methods: This paper helps the…

The American Lung Association's Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) program is federally recognized as an accessible and effective option for teen smoking cessation. The program is the most widely used teen smoking cessation program in schools and communities across the U.S. Over a decade of research demonstrates the program's solid evidence base, with…

The PhunkyFoods Programme (PFP), launched in 2005 by Purely Nutrition, teaches primary children key messages related to healthy eating and physical exercise in a light hearted and fun manner through art, drama, music, play and practical experience with food. It aims to enhance pupil performance, increase concentration, and improve behaviour,…

Objective:: To help close the gap between health promotion research and practice by using systems thinking. Methods: We review 3 national US tobacco control initiatives and a project (ISIS) that has introduced systems thinking to tobacco control, speculating on ways in which systems thinking may add value to health promotion dissemination and…

Major approaches to school-based substance abuse prevention for adolescents are reviewed, and school organizational issues for the implementation of such programs are considered. The need for multi-level interventions including parents, the community, and the media is discussed. Three models of school-based substance abuse prevention programs are…

Identifies leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States, describes youth behavior that contributes to these causes, and outlines ways in which a school program might address these health and social problems among students. Also describes research and development strategies to help schools implement health programs and suggests…

A methodology is presented for collection of cost data in evaluation of community-level health interventions that coincides with the intervention implementation. The seven discrete steps of the analysis are described, and the Minimal Contact Education for Cholesterol Change study is used as an example of how the strategy is used. (SLD)

This report reviews work by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG), which evaluated the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), including whether children are being enrolled inappropriately in SCHIP rather than in Medicaid, and states' progress in reducing the number of uninsured children. This…

The Research Secretariat on Social Services and Community Development was one of the five Hispanic research task forces funded by the Ford Foundation to determine Hispanic research priorities. Its three major purposes were the following: (1) to develop an Hispanic research and policy agenda which recommends research activities and prioritizes…

Despite the positive contributions of the 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (the McKinney Act), Federal emergency aid has failed to keep pace with the growing need for assistance. Less than one year after the passage of the McKinney Act, progress has been made toward meeting the emergency need for food, shelter, and health care…

The School Health Demonstration Program (SHDP), undertaken in 1981, is a coordinated effort by the New York State Departments of Health, Education, and Social Services to provide direct health care, health promotion/illness prevention, and health education to children from low income communities with inadequate access to primary health care…

Physical activity levels begin to decline in childhood and continue falling throughout adolescence, with girls being at greatest risk for inactivity. Schools are ideal settings for helping girls develop and maintain a physically active lifestyle. This paper describes the design and implementation of "Lifestyle Education for Activity Program", or…